WASHINGTON — A Raleigh man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Capitol police officer and entering the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, court documents show.
Investigators said they got a lead on David Joseph Gietzen, of Raleigh, after someone tipped them. Authorities said the tipster went to college with Gietzen and met him then through mutual friends. The tipster said they were acquaintances.
After Jan. 6, investigators said the tipster saw the FBI’s pictures of those wanted from the Capitol attacks and recognized one as Gietzen. They asked another person, who agreed it was Gietzen, and they both submitted tips to the FBI.
The second tipster was able to provide a photo from a group text message that indicated Gietzen had participated in the Capitol attack. That photo is below:
Authorities said on Jan. 16, they received reports about text messages where Gietzen and his brother indicated they wanted to meet people at the Capitol on Jan. 20 for the presidential inauguration. The report said their plan was to force their way into the Capitol building to force Congress to hold another election, and that the pair were also at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Investigators interviewed Gietzen on Jan. 19, who said he and his brother went to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 but had no intention to be violent.
“He stated that while walking to the Capitol, the situation escalated because protesters believed the police were trying to stop them from continuing to the Capitol,” court documents said. “Gietzen said that he and his brother never made it to the Capitol.”
Investigators said CCTV footage showed Gietzen in altercations with law enforcement when he was “thrusting his fist against U.S. Capitol police officers’ shields.”
Later, CCTV showed him grabbing an officer’s shield and then pushing it. He also “appears to grab the officer by the throat or face mask,” the court documents said.
After that, Gietzen is seen holding a pole and walking toward the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol. It is then that he’s seen “leaning forward over the railing and thrusting the pole toward the officers. His pole appears to make contact with the crowd of officers.”
Authorities said they interviewed a Capitol Police officer who saw a man, later identified as Gietzen, hit the officer next to him with the pole. Gietzen allegedly hit the officer on his shoulder between his protective gear. “Gietzen took the opportunity to hit the officers after the officers had to fight off a group of rioters who used a large piece of wood, appearing to be a piece of plywood the size of a door, to break through the perimeter,” the officer said.
Gietzen is charged with eight total counts:
- Civil disorder and aiding and abetting
- Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers
- Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds
- Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings
The Raleigh resident was arrested in Sanford on May 11.
(WATCH BELOW: Chaos at the Capitol: A timeline of the Jan. 6 riot)
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